DOA3 Fighter Of The Day: Ayane

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She might turn her back to you, but that's the worst time to attack the upredictable Ayane.

By Anthony Chau

You've seen the screenshots, waited aggravating minutes to download the movies, and heard us rant and rave about the game. There have been many publications calling it the best 3D fighting game and while we're holding out on a verdict for that one, it's certainly one of the most entertaining and best looking 3D games ever. And with Xbox launch just two weeks away, the wait for Dead Or Alive 3 might seem unbearable to our dear Xbox readers. That's what we, at IGNXbox, are here for; for the next fourteen days, we'll be showcasing each character in our DOA 3 Fighter Of The Day feature! Each day, we'll examine each of the sixteen fighters strengths, weaknesses, tag team partners, and analyze their martial art.

Now before we start, there's some stuff that you'll need to keep in mind. For starters, our version of Dead Or Alive 3 is only 80% complete so while nearly every special move and tag team throws are in, we might be missing a few when the final version comes out. Secondly, we'll be detailing the special tag team throws with the following terminology: primary partners are tag teammates who will execute a special tag team throw whether they tag in their partner or get tagged in. Secondary partners share only one special tag team throw and depending on what tag team partners you match-up with, that special tag team throw only happens when you tag in a certain partner. For example, Lei Fang and Jann Lee are primary tag partners and will always execute a special tag team throw regardless if Lei Fang tags in Jann Lee or vice versa. Secondary partners happen in the case when Lei Fang partners up with Gen Fu; a special tag throw only occurs when Gen Fu tags in Lei Fang.

With that out of the way, we'll be delivering new screens detailing certain special moves, movies showing off fighting techniques and special tag team throws, character bios, and a little background information on the martial arts each fighter specializes in. So let us begin:

Ayane

Ayane's former teacher and foster parent, the leader of Mugen Tenshin style Hajin Mon, has disappeared. His name is Genra. Ayane, now the most powerful Shinobi in Hajin Mon, learns that Genra has been turned into a puppet by DOATEC and its dastardly Omega Project. Seeing what has become of Genra, her beloved father figure, Ayane realizes that fate commands her to put Genra out of his misery.

As one of the original Dead Or Alive 3 characters, Ayane's style of play hasn't changed much. She's still unpredictable and her attacks come out quite quickly. But believe it or not, she's even quicker in Dead Or Alive 3, she's been given some new combinations and attacks that give her a better high and low combination game, and makes her very unpredictable.

The bread and butter of Ayane's attacks all come from her backwards stance. Although there are some DOA 3 characters that benefit from facing their backs to the opponent, none are more deadly than Ayane. She's able to confuse and confound opponents with her speed and unpredictability from her rear facing strikes.

Most notable are her punch attacks from this position; they come out with such speed and with very little wind up, she's one of the hardest characters to counter.

Ayane's fast punching attacks are completed by good kick attacks that often will send foes flying back. While this looks pretty darn impressive, it's also a weakness - unlike her punches, her kick attacks often need a big windup to unleash. Fortunately with her speed, her kicks still come out quickly making her a dangerous opponent when fighting on multi-leveled stages. One well-timed kick can send an opponent through a barrier and off the edge for some hideous damage.

Ayane's speed and deceiving attacks make her a pretty good complement for slower fighters for tag team battles. As far as special tag throws are concerned, all her primary partners are with the ninjas - Kasumi, Hayabusa, and Hayate. Secondary partners include Bass, Gen Fu, and Jann Lee; pairing Ayane and Jann Lee is a scary combination as you have arguably the two fastest attacking characters on one team.

Ninjitsu For fiction purposes, all the ninjas (except Hayabusa) in Dead Or Alive 3 are masters of The Mugen Tenshin Ninjitsu style; Mugen Tenshin loosely translates to "Phantasm Zenith" and in the world of DOA3 there are two schools: Tenshin Mon and Hajin Mon.

Real Ninjitsu originated around the ninth century in Japan and was definitely influenced by Chinese. Much of the philosophy behind Ninjitsu originates Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War". The actual fighting style of Ninjitsu is actually called Ninpo and is divided into eighteen basic techniques and eighteen advanced techniques. More than any martial art, training in Ninjitsu is a very comprehensive learning process that includes hand-to-hand techniques, weapon training, and religious practices. The fighting technique of ninjas has one sole purpose: to incapacitate or kill an opponent as quickly as possible. Thus, Ninjitsu techniques include various leaping attacks, quick hand and kick techniques, and grappling skills that can be performed to silence an enemy very quickly. Ninjitsu is also one of the few martial arts to apply psychological aspects to their fighting methods; the ability to confuse, stun, or surprise the enemy gave the martial artist a better advantage and that can explain the use of poison, smoke bombs, and other unconventional weaponry of this martial art.